The National Nuclear Security Administration needs to take additional actions to improve the management of nuclear programs, GAO has said.
NNSA, a separately organized agency within the Energy Department responsible for nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactors programs, has experienced continuous security problems and cost and schedule overruns on its major projects, such as the National Ignition Facility, according to GAO-07-36.
Based on a review of relevant legislation, NNSA policies, plans and budgets and interviews with current and former NNSA and DOE officials, GAO said NNSA has yet to build an effective security organization, and still cannot demonstrate that all of its security program objectives are being met at all of its sites.
Internal and independent security oversight assessments have identified weaknesses in physical security at several NNSA sites, including the Nevada Test Site, Sandia National Laboratories and the Y-12 National Security Complex, and weaknesses in cyber security throughout NNSA, the report said.
It said poorly organized headquarters security has contributed to the situation, as well as security staffing shortages at NNSA site offices, inadequate security staff training and incomplete security data.
The agency has taken actions to improve management practices, including developing a planning, programming and budgeting evaluation process, but management problems continue because NNSA and DoE have not agreed on how NNSA should function within DOE as a separate agency, GAO said.
